Snap Fitness Health & Fitness Blog

Are You Overtraining?

May 01, 2012
By:
Chad Ruf, Director of Personal Training

Many Americans get stuck in the rut of overtraining when trying to see results in the gym and outdoors. How do you know when you have done too much? How do you know when it is time to switch up the routine and/or what you are doing that's moving you in the wrong direction? Here are some signs that you may potentially be overtraining.

You have been losing weight and body fat for some time but now you are going in the wrong direction. Your body’s hormones are out of whack and you are starting to store body fat and lose lean muscle.

Your workouts are getting worse and not better. Remember when you started and your workouts would continue to get better as time went on? Now you cannot finish the original workout you did a month ago and you can’t seem to get your heart rate up like you used to.

You are working out 7 days a week without rest. You are training too often. Your body needs rest between workout days to recover and repair torn muscle tissue. Try taking at least two days off a week to get the needed recovery time you need to build lean muscle mass.

Your joints, limbs, and bones ache and hurt. The overuse of your muscles during these multiple workouts has caused pain in the joints and auxiliary muscles where you have more motion and use. Your body cannot repair fast enough in these areas as you are using them in multiple exercises. Don’t ignore that pain in your knee cap and that throbbing pain in your hip joint. You may be overtraining.

You are getting sick or catching colds more often. You notice you have been sick a lot more this year. You are exercising a lot but you are wearing down your body’s immune system and it can’t repair itself fast enough to keep you healthy.

Pay attention to these potential symptoms of overtraining and you may have a better and more enjoyable fitness journey in your future!